The acquisition and management of information is central to the operation and marketing of many service-providing firms and other organizations. Their varied knowledge requirements influence approaches to organizational structure, relationships to other organizations, the location of operations, and entry into new markets. In this book, an international and interdisciplinary team of leading scholars examines the attributes of knowledge acquisition and diffusion within and across service-providing organizations. Using a variety of case examples, they pay particular attention to the processes of internationalization and the ways in which service-providing organizations affect regional economic development.

'Globalisation, the shift towards specialised service industries and labour, and the emergence of the knowledge-based economy each represent salient dynamics of development among both advanced and transitional societies. Bringing together highly original, instructive case studies, this book effectively interrogates and synthesises these key processes of multiscalar restructuring in a lively, stimulating and incisive volume of research.' Thomas Hutton, University of British Columbia, Canada '...a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate within the geography of services.' Economic Geography Research Group 'What makes this book interesting and valuable is not only the range of services it covers (including sectors that have received comparatively little attention to date...)but also the variety of theoretical and conceptual approaches that are used to investigate the (spatial organization and knowledge creation processes within and between firms. In sum, the editors and authors of this volume have produced a comprehensive and timely addition to the academic knowledge of the service economy, its organization, and spatial configuration.' Environment & Planning B: Planning & Design '...I found quite a few nuggets in this Brueghel-like scene of many authors and sites that stimulated me to think in new ways.' Journal of Regional Science

James W. Harrington is Professor at the University of Washington, USA. Peter W. Daniels is Professor of Geography and Dean of Physical Sciences and Engineering at the University of Birmingham, UK.